Republicans and Democrats spar over entitlement cuts

The U.S. Senate's vote rejecting Republicans' proposed 2012 budget — and all of its provisions to drastically overhaul Medicare and Medicaid — means both sides are back to debating how to best balance the federal budget.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) offered a plan Thursday featuring a 25% top tax rate on corporations and individuals, compared to the 35% currently in place. He has also called for more domestic energy production and more government regulation of U.S. patent and visa systems, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, President Obama revealed 30 plans to hold down federal regulation on American companies in order to save billions of dollars in costs.

But no one is taking Medicare or Medicaid off the table just yet. While privatization and cuts to Medicare remain unpopular, the Senate vote of 57-40 found only five Republicans voting against the proposed budget.

While long-term care professionals have at least two more weeks to agonize over the fate of a bill that would permanently repeal the current Medicare physicians funding formula, a host of other key funding "extenders" set to expire also hang in the balance.

Nearly four months into the year, a 2015 calendar sporting nude photographs of the residents of Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living in Akron, OH, are still flying out the door — so much so that a second printing was ordered.